Synopsis

Set on a bizarre dude ranch, the video places Devo in a surreal Western world populated by cowboys, cowgirls, eccentric onlookers, and ranch-house spectators. Mark Mothersbaugh performs in the cattle pen with the band, wearing Devo's distinctive black outfits and red Energy Domes. Elsewhere, he uses a bullwhip to remove a woman's clothing piece by piece, while the exaggerated setting and deliberately awkward performances turn the scene into an absurd parody of cowboy mythology and sexual spectacle.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was made on a budget of approximately $15,000, an unusually modest sum for a major-label production. Devo had already pushed Warner Bros. to support promotional videos before music videos became standard industry practice.

• The central idea came from a story in a 1962 issue of Dude magazine. The article described a former stuntman who entertained himself by using a whip to remove his wife's clothes at a dude ranch.

• Devo intended the clip as satire rather than a straightforward erotic fantasy. The band connected its Western imagery to the cowboy mythology associated with Ronald Reagan, then a former Hollywood actor and future U.S. president.

• The woman's clothes were attached to fishing line and pulled away after each whip crack. The whip did not actually strike her, although it was used to knock a cigarette holder from her mouth.

• The video's sexual imagery helped create the mistaken impression that the song itself was about masturbation or sadomasochism. The lyrics were intentionally cryptic, and the band later acknowledged that these assumptions helped attract attention.

• Devo's red, flowerpot-shaped Energy Domes became one of the clip's most recognizable visual elements. The hats were part of the band's broader attempt to present itself as a deliberately uniform, anti-rock-star unit.

• The video initially reached audiences largely through late-night television appearances. Its exposure increased dramatically after MTV launched in 1981, helping extend the song's commercial life and making Devo a defining presence of early music television.

• The clip provoked accusations of misogyny because of its depiction of a woman being stripped by a man with a whip. Lily Tomlin reportedly objected to the video strongly enough that Devo's appearance was removed from an episode of The Midnight Special she hosted.

• Despite persistent stories that MTV banned the video, it was in fact shown by the channel and became one of its early recurring clips.